A Dozen Lillies
by Alzeih
Summary: Unfinished. It's Lily. And It's James. AND It's Severus. 6th year begins. I start with full intent to follow canon somewhat , but if that ship sails, I'm going for the ride.
1. Chapter 1: Clean your Pockets

A/N: Insert disclaimer here. Worship JK rowling's world here. Note that story is NOT finished and subject to editing. Have a lovely day.

Oh, and this is actually a Severus/Lily :P It's getting there. Please R&R. No more author notes I promise.

Chapter 1: Clean your pockets

Lily Evans stared distastefully into the mirror. It seemed that not a year went by without her height rising another five inches.

"Will I ever stop growing?" she pondered to the figure in the mirror? She knew she would, but it didn't stop her questioning it. Especially as she flung her robes into a pile – they had barely fitted her chest and were far too short. Madam Mankins' would be happy to see her again.

She examined her body. It certainly wasn't gorgeous... but it had certainly improved in the past few years. It did look horribly stretched. She would have to grow her hair a bit.

"Lil!"

Petunia's voice broke in, and Lily snatched up her jeans, rather annoyed at her vanity. There was another rap at the door.

"May I borrow a pound for the bus?" Petunia asked dully through the door, very politely she noticed with a smirk.

"Hang on a minute," Lily called as she dug for a top, "I'll bring it out with the washing." She scooped up a pile of robes, socks, and pajamas; throwing her wallet on top under her chin. Petunia followed her through to the laundry, and grabbed the wallet as she pushed the clothes into a small wicker basket.

"Where are you going anyway?" Lily asked.

Petunia scowled. "Billy needs a few hours covered while he takes off to the football. I promised I'd take them." She stuffed the money in her jacket pocket. "Of course, if he doesn't pay me double, I'll tell the boss what he's really up to. Said it was a family event he couldn't excuse himself from."

Lily chuckled. "I'm guessing it'll be busy tonight then?" While she couldn't see reason why football was so fantastic, nor why the pub Petunia was waitressing at 2 nights a week managed to stay in business, she was pleased Petunia worked there. Although they got on well enough, it was nice to have her out of the house sometimes.

Petunia just rolled her eyes and left. A yes then.

Lily sighed and wandered back to her room, flopping down on the bed. There was a heavy thud as her textbooks slid of onto the floor in a heap. Actually, she mused as she pulled her head up from the pillows, there was stuff everywhere. The Hogwarts letter was lying unopened on her desk, amongst a spray of quills and parchment. A potions kit was lying open, she should really replace the beetle droppings, they were starting to ferment in the heat. Her suitcase was open and overflowing with stacks of parchment from last year, they should really be moved to a box to stop them fading. And who knew when her wand had last been seen. Ah, Summer...

"Lily Evans, just what do you call this?" Her mum was calling from the laundry. She jumped, and remembered when she had last worn those robes.

"Look, I can explain. I managed to rip the sleeve when..."

"You did what? No... It's not that. But you should really clean out your pockets."

Lily had grabbed the robes by now, checking for anything else. There was a small roll of parchment in her mum's hands. She was looking at it in distaste.

"So, who thinks you should eat a dungbomb?"

Lily flushed scarlet. "Potter, of course." She took the note and stuffed it in her pockets. "I'll chuck it out later."

"You really do have delightful friends at school, my dear. I would love to meet them." The hint of sarcasm, well, wasn't very hint-like.

"Most of them are fine, mum. It's just a few, and they do cause a lot of trouble, but mostly they stay out of my way." Lily made a mental note to remind James exactly how far. "Advantage to having authority, I guess."

Her mother just smiled. Then handed her a small pile of coins, more parchment, a collection of safety pins, a empty ink bottle, a handful of honeydukes wrappers and a length of fine chain. "As I said dear, clean your pockets. And make sure you get your father something nice. He's driving you to London tomorrow."

Finally! After asking about it for weeks, she finally had a ride. Lily grinned. "I can't wait."


	2. Chapter 2 : Just a minute!

Chapter 2: Just a minute 

Lily's father had his green eyes fixed on the road and the traffic that didn't seem to know where it was going. Large orange trucks were blocking off three lanes as the ashphelt was being ripped up between them. She could see the sweat pouring off the workers faces as the sun beat down the city.

Lily wasn't too comfortable herself. She crushed her sweaty hands into the jacket on her lap, and hoped Florean's would be open late tonight. Even with the air conditioning going full, it was no match for the sticky hotness that seemed to be everywhere. To distract herself, she began opening her Hogwarts letter, taking her time and trying not to rip the envelope.

Her father glanced over. "What do they want from you this year? More books I suppose?"

Lily nodded. "I'd be surprised if they didn't. They asked for enough books for OWL's anyway. This year is supposed to be harder too."

He grunted. "How many years now? Five?"

"This is my Sixth year. While the exams don't count for anything, I've heard if you fail, they make you repeat before you attempt your NEWTs." At the word fail, Lily felt a sharp squirm of panic. Maybe she shouldn't have spent most of her holidays relaxing.

Her father laughed. "You, fail anything? You'd sooner find a way to charm your way out of it than fail anything." Although she knew his use of the word charm was entire coincidence, she cheered up at the thought of her favorite subject.

Lily spent a happy half-hour going over charms in her head until the car pulled to a stop. Her father pulled out a briefcase and straightened his shirt. "I'll just be a minute. If you need a break, the coffee shop over the road is quite nice." Luckily for Lily, her father had needed to come to London on business. The firm had been so busy that Lily had hardly seen her dad all summer. At one point it seemed she wouldn't get there until September the 1st.

Time dragged on, and the car was getting very hot now the air conditioning was turned off. She grabbed her wallet, checking for British currency, and ran across the street. He had been right, of course.

It was a lovely place. The shop was an airy building with a half sized mezzanine floor above, and curled stairs up to it. Downstairs, small tables were scattered with menus and still smoking coffee mugs. Upstairs, red plushy couches were crammed in between bookshelves. Lily ordered a hot chocolate and settled herself upstairs. Despite being magical, Lily had a love of muggle fantasy books. She chose a nice thick one, and began to read.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Her chocolate was barely warm and barely touched when her father came back. He found her as he expected, completely lost in the book. She ignored him at first, until he snapped the briefcase open and shuffled through it.

"Oh hi! Sorry, It's..."

"A good book, I know," he smiled. "Would you mind getting me a coffee? I'll just need a minute"

Lily put the book down and took a quick swig of cooling chocolate before bounding down the stairs. She grabbed him a fruit salad muffin and an order for a steaming cup of coffee.

She got back to see him glance at his watch. "Sorry about that, It was supposed to be just a delivery, but it took a little to get it working. No one's fault. We should still have enough time in London if we beat the traffic."

Lily shrugged. "I don't need as much as I thought this year anyway". While in the car, she had opened the envelope. It had contained the usual welcome letter, of course; the list of books was disappointingly short. Also the potion ingredients were to be bought at Hogwarts this year, as many of the potions required 'potent well-prepared ingredients', and apart from the robes, she was set.

Not too much longer after the coffee arrived, they left and headed off for the Leaky Cauldron.


	3. Chapter 3: Typical

Chapter 3: Typical 

"Potter?"

"Well, a little Hello wouldn't go amiss. Your late too, you know that?"

Lily had just entered the Leaky Cauldron to find James Potter in her face. Welcome back to the magical world, she thought bitterly. Maybe it was time she told Potter exactly how little a Hello he was going to get. However there was a more important issue.

"Late, for what?"

James sighed. "You forgot, didn't you. The meeting. The _prefects_ meeting. The one, if I remember rightly, and I usually do, that _you_ organized."

Lily froze. He was bluffing...wasn't he? James was already digging out a sheet of parchment. "Look."

Prefect's Meeting

August 17th at Leaky.

To discuss NEWT's and responsibilities during the coming year.

Dinner to follow.

Lily groaned. Then glared at James. "What are you doing with that, and here, anyway? You're not even a prefect! Are you?"

"There's a perfectly reasonable explanation, and no. They'd never make me a prefect, you know that. I'm here because Lupin is, uh, he's had to finish an essay for Potions."

Lily grinned. "I finished that one weeks ago. Handed it in on the last day of term." Lily paused to remember the shock on the Professor's face. It was very savory. "Wait... where is everyone else?"

James glanced around. "Guess they all left. Oh wait, thats because no one showed up in the first place." Lily Scowled. "Oh," James went on, "Snape showed up for a while, but then he had to make a hasty exit." The grin on James' face was a little too wide to suggest Snape had just left peacefully.

Lily pushed passed him. "Look, as much as I want to stay, I have shopping to do. I'll see you at Hogwarts, Potter." James raised an eyebrow. "Your late this year aren't you? And, I think you'll have some problems with some of your shopping, Evans."

Not really wanting to know why, she stepped out the back and into Diagon Alley. "Oh shit."

The place was deserted. "What is wrong with me!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"... and I forgot today was the Wizardmagot's declaration, and so of course everything is shut. I'll just have to come back a day early and make my own way to the station for the train, but..."

"You could come stay with me?"

Both Lily and her father stared and James Potter. "I'm sorry, did you just say..."

"Well, I think its fairly reasonable. Lily can come and stay with us tonight, I have friends over anyhow so one more won't be a burden."

Lily just stared. This wasn't happening. She was facing a night with James, AND his friends? Dear god. But the alternative...

"But how will she get home? I can't come back to London tomorrow..."

"Thats fine, she's welcome until the train leaves." Lily choked.

"No way! I mean... there's no way I could overstay my welcome like that. I have stuff to pack at home as well. No, I'll need to be home tomorrow."

James screwed up his face in thought. "Well... we could always talk to the ministry, get your place on the floo network. Just temporary mind, It's allowed under certain circumstances."

Lily's father just shrugged. "I don't have a better idea Lil. Are you alright with this?"

As much as Lily would prefer writing a 12 foot long divination essay to this, she bit her tongue. "Ok, dad, I'll be fine. I'll phone you as soon as I know what's going on."

She walked him out to the car, giving messages for her mum and Petunia. "Oh, and don't forget to move the plant from in the fire place, Mum will kill me if I stand on it." She hesitated. "I think that's everything."

Her father gave her a quick hug then got in the car. "See you soon, Lil."

"Bye, Dad." She waved. James waved too. She scowled, but he was driving off and didn't notice.

"Great! Now, I hope you don't have much to carry. We're flying home."

Lily closed her eyes in horror. Typical. Just typical.


	4. Chapter 4: Storks

Chapter 4: Storks

Lily winced as she wrapped her arms around Jame's waist. She just knew he would find some way to bring this up at the worst possible moment. A romantic flight above the city, just the two, and the cool breeze... sorry, romantic? She could name hundreds of other situations more romantic than clinging to James Potter in midair. Like, uh...

"Lily?" James was peering at her curiously.

"Uh, I'm ready." Ready as she ever wanted to be, that was. James gave a hard kickoff; her stomach lurched, and she snapped her arms around his waist. She was immediately glad she had agreed to have dinner when they arrived.

The broomstick gave a sharp turn to the left as they sailed up over the Leaky Cauldron, taking her by surprise. A few people were wandering the streets in the growing twilight. James' hair tickled her face as they streamed through the air.

"Hey, Lily" James asked softly.

Lily glanced sharply. "What do you want, Potter?"

"I'd be grateful if you'd stop digging you nails into my chest for one." She heard him gasp in a breath as she released the iron-grip she had unknowingly had around him.

"Sorry about that. I just, well, I haven't flown in a while. And not as a passenger."

James frowned. "Surely when you were younger you were flown everywhere? My parents love flying. I wouldn't be surprised if I was born on a broomstick actually."

Lily snorted. "As, _unique_, as that would make you, I'm not sure the world has quite got over the stork idea to find children falling out of the sky amusing yet." She imagined waking up one morning to find a baby who had fallen into a flowerpot overnight.

James looked blank. "What's a plant got anything to do with this?" He continued when Lily looked confused. "The stalk, thing, you said; how's a flower stem anything to do with babies falling out of skies?"

Lily's face slackened. "Stork. Like, the bird. With the big beak and the sling with babies in it." She shook her head. "Maybe its a muggle thing."

James looked at her, worried. "Lily, I think your parents might have neglected to, uh, enlighten you on cert-"

"No! It's not real, silly. It's just a fairy tale! Made for small children and embarrassed parents."

"Oh, I see," said James, clearly not. "Some muggles have some very weird ideas."

Lily sighed, and adjusted her hands. She hoped James' lived somewhere close.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Twenty minutes had cramped her legs on the broomstick, and the wind was now bitter on her face. Her jacket was wrapped in her bag tied beneath, not that she could have put it on anyway. The sun had vanished behind a band of cloud that sat heaped on the horizon. Now she thought about it, she had never asked James where he lived.

"Ready for landing?"

Lily tried to hide the relief from her face. "Thought we never would." As they dropped from the sky, her bag skimmed the leaves of some hedges, and barely cleared a gate. Before she knew it, James was steadying himself to land.

Lily suddenly felt very out of place. The broom rattled a little as it fell sharply into a garden. She lifted up her feet to miss the ground, and very suddenly, she wasn't flying at all. In fact, she was falling. Straight into a very green pond.


	5. Chapter 5: You're Welcome

Chapter 5: You're Welcome

Cold shock hit her as she fell into the pond. She sunk and landed on the bottom. At least it couldn't get any worse. Her hands reached out to push off and landed on something slimy; then it wriggled. Horrified, Lily almost swallowed a mouthful of pond sludge as she yanked her hands away.

A strong pull on her head made her yelp, and her mouth filled with slime. Then she was above the surface, a strong hand pulling on her hair. Great. Not only was she covered in slime, but had to be rescued by James Potter. Now she would never hear the end of this.

"James! What on earth we're you thinking? And let go of my hair before I make sure you can never grab it again!"

There was a dark, unfamiliar chuckle. Lily rubbed her eyes. James was over by the broomstick, removing her bag. He turned at the mention of his name.

"Well, Lily. I do know what I was thinking. That your back-flip off the broom was pretty good for someone flailing in panic."

Lily felt her cheeks burn. Then jumped as a pair of arms snaked around her chest. With a grunt, Lily found herself slid back onto dry land. She looked up to a familiar face.

"Black? What are you doing here?"

He grinned. "Not even a thank you from you, Lily? I'm astonished; I thought you had more manners than that when it came to having your life saved. Oh, and I live here; and please call me Sirius."

Of all of James' friends, she had not expected Bla-, Sirius, to be here. The two were astoundingly close at school, but she had not picked them as being the brotherly sort. Just the mischievous sort.

Just then someone she was glad to see walked out of the house. Remus Lupin carried a towel and a tired look. "Are you alright, Lily?"

"No! Not really." She thought for a moment. "I mean, I'm still breathing, and out of that sludge". She looked at said sludge, and it writhed ominously.

"I think it has a few plimpys in it," Remus stated blandly, noticing her stare.

"Damn right it does," interrupted Sirius. "Blighter's almost took my toes off in the Hogwarts' Lake. I'm trying to train them," he finished brightly. The pond surface splashed and flicked slime over Remus's shoes.

Lily struggled to her feet, and took the proffered towel. Remus glanced at her. Her hair was full of slime, and slicked into a tangle across her face. Slime dripped down her legs, on one there was an angry red scratch. Her clothes had looked better, now soaked and sticking to her body. Sirius had reached up and tugged a plimpy from her back and tossed it nonchalantly into the pond.

"Let's get you inside before you freeze." James followed, directing them to a large bathroom. Remus began to run a bath and James left the bag inside the door. They were just leaving when Lily stopped them with a horrified yell. "I don't have any clothes!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Traces of green still clung to her face as much as she had scrubbed it raw. Despite the layers of soap she had lathered herself with, she still stunk like a pond. Or maybe that was the pond up her nose. At least her hair was cleaner now, and she was a lot drier.

James has smirked and handed her a dressing gown before shutting the door. It was silky gryffindor red with a gold trim, and several sizes too large. It felt like heaven on her skin though. She wrapped it on, eying it in the mirror. It made her look like she was wearing a red cloak, but instead of her face being in shadow, it looked rather pale. She tied the band up, then twice, just in case it slipped.

Slinging on her backpack and wrapping her sopping clothes in a towel, she stepped out into the hallway. She could hear voices at the end of the corridor.

"... loved the way she tumbled off. Quite athletic actually."

"Maybe she should try out for the house team. We need a seeker with moves like that."

"Don't be thick, James. She was terrified. You'll be lucky to ever get her on a broom again with you around."

"She probably thinks I pushed her off into it."

"Well you did, didn't you?"

"Padfoot, would I do a thing like that?" Silence, then laughter. "Ok, I probably would. But next time I bring a girl home, I'll go by floo. Sooty wins over slimy any day."

"Why is she here anyway? I thought we were..."

A hand tapped her on her shoulder. She turned to find a woman she could only presume to be James' mother. She wore glasses and had a frown on her face.

"Oh, uh, sorry! I was just..."

"Dripping all over the carpet. I must teach my son to be a better host for his guests. It's been so long since anyone new has been around I suspect he's forgotten himself."

Lily looked in horror at the pool of slimy water that had been gathering unknowingly around her feet. She cringed. "Look, Ill clean this up. Where..?"

James' mum pointed across the hall into what was very obviously a magical laundry. Clothes flapped around the ceiling as they steamed themselves dry, making the whole room flicker. A bubbling cauldron stirred clothes in murky water. Labeled baskets, one for each member of the family, jumped up and caught the newly cleaned clothes, folded them and fell back into the corner.

James' mum picked up a small basket from a stack in the corner. With a wave of her wand, It wriggled in her hands, and leaped towards Lily.

"Just put them in dear, It will do everything else." Lily cautiously placed her sopping clothes in the basket, and it whipped away into the laundry.

Lily turned away from it in amazement to thank her, but she was leaning into the other room. "James! Be so kind to look after your guest. There's a spare room upstairs for her." She turned and smiled warmly at Lily. "It is so lovely to have another woman in the house. James' friends are all so, masculine, most of the time. You're welcome to come back any time you like."

Despite vowing to never do so, Lily thanked her; and she stepped into the room. James and his friends were settled around a large wooden table in front of an unlit fireplace. Lily settled herself awkwardly into a chair and glanced around at them.


	6. Chapter 6: Flew, Vanished, or Shrunk

Chapter 6: Flew, Vanished or Shrunk.

Remus was idly stirring a steaming mug of coffee, still looking worse for wear. James was sketching. Sirius stretched and his stomach gurgled loudly.

"Dinner?" he asked.

James nodded and rolled up the parchment and grinned. "Almost finished."

Lily raised an eyebrow. Sirius glanced and James, then pulled out a small object from his pocket.

"What on earth is that?" Lily lent in close. It looked like a very tiny castle, complete with grounds and forest.

"It's Hogwarts. Well, a scale model of it. Remus thinks adding Hogsmede might be a nice touch. What do you think?"

Lily moved right up to it, Gryffindor tower brushing her nose. It was incredibly detailed. "You made this?"

Sirius' chest puffed out a little. "Yep. With a little help from James and W- Peter. James was just drawing the layout of the 5th floor so we can add it later."

"It has floors? It's too small for that." However Lily noticed tiny windows with even smaller panes. It was incredible craftsmanship.

Remus shrugged. "We've been shrinking it each summer to bring it home. It takes up most of the dorm during the year – It's a lot easier to see at that size."

Lily just gaped. How they managed to have time to build a miniature Hogwarts was beyond her. Never mind that they were observant enough to have such a high level of detail. The hen houses had feathers scattered around them, small white dots at this size; and the lake edge had trees exactly where she remembered them.

Sirius lent over and plucked it carefully out of her hands. "My pride and joy," he murmured and stroked it fondly. "I think you're right Remus, I will add Hogsmede. It doesn't look complete without the shack, and Honeydukes."

At the mention of food, Lily's stomach gurgled loudly. It was now completely dark outside, and she was starving."James, did you mention dinner on the way here?" Grunts of agreement were echoed by Sirius and Remus.

"Oh sure, hang on, I'll just get the menus. You can have Peters since he's away tonight."

The menus turned out to be leathery card with silver engraved text. There were three choices: Spaghetti Bolognaise, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and Baked Fish with seafood salad.

"Uh, what's the chicken like?"

Sirius glanced up from his own menu. "No idea. We all have different menus, see? So I've never tried it. However if it's chicken, it's probably good."

James has folded his menu back down, and Remus had also.

"Can we order drinks?" Her coffee cup was nearly empty.

Remus laughed. "From who? No, I'll show you to the kitchen if you want anything."

"But, the menus?"

Sirius grabbed hers, and stroked a finger over the silver lettering for the cordon bleu. It hummed and turned golden. "It's just for the house elves, makes it easier if they have some idea what they have to prepare." He grabbed up the pile of menus and tossed them in a bowl on the table, where they vanished.

Lily suddenly felt very tired. If it wasn't enough being in a magical house, where everything flew, vanished or shrunk; then being in the same house as James and Sirius was. The coffee she drained tasted sweet, but gave not an ounce of extra energy she hoped it would. She was aware of James taking a pack of cards and standing them up in a row of tents. Sirius was still gazing at the miniature Hogwarts, and Remus was... Remus...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Remus was peeling her face gently from the table. The lights in the room were dim, and no one else was around. Outside was pitch black apart from the struggling twinkle here and there.

"I know from experience that table doesn't give a good night's sleep."

She got shakily to her feet. At some point her dinner had arrived, a fresh spinach salad lay untouched beside some nibbled chicken. A tower of cards was wobbling in the breeze, a few shook off and floated to her feet.

"Whaddid I miss?" she croaked.

Remus shook his head and took her arm. "Nothing, unless you mean dinner. It'll be in the fridge if you're hungry." Remus pointed vaguely to a door, then led her up a flight of stairs.

They shuffled forward in the complete darkness, until Remus stopped and bent, fumbling with something. A flame burst into light, concealed in a bronze and glass bowl that resembled a cauldron.

It shone on a neatly made single bed in a small room at the top of the stairs. Her bag was already here, as well as a neat pile of clean laundry. Heaven.

"James' mum will wake you in the morning. I guess you'll be wanting to go to Diagon Alley first thing?"

Lily shrugged, and pushed the laundry to the floor. Right now, she didn't care what happened tomorrow.

Remus left, pulling the door closed, and she collapsed into bed. Then swore. She rolled out of bed taking the blanket with her, and scrawled a note:

Mum and Dad,

At James' house. Nice place.

Should be going shopping soon.

See you in a few days,

Love, Lily.

She looked at her watch. Midnight.

She'd send it tomorrow.


End file.
